JAFFREY

DWI charge after fatality

Woman facing negligent homicide of her boyfriend following late-night crash

Nichole Oates was arraigned at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene on Monday on felony-level negligent homicide and aggravated DWI charges out of Jaffrey following a fatal car crash Friday evening on Fitzwilliam Road in Jaffrey.

(Staff photo by Alyssa Dandrea)

Nichole Oates was arraigned at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene on Monday on felony-level negligent homicide and aggravated DWI charges out of Jaffrey following a fatal car crash Friday evening on Fitzwilliam Road in Jaffrey.

(Staff photo by Alyssa Dandrea)

Nichole Oates was arraigned at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene on Monday on felony-level negligent homicide and aggravated DWI charges out of Jaffrey following a fatal car crash Friday evening on Fitzwilliam Road in Jaffrey.

(Staff photo by Alyssa Dandrea)

Nichole Oates was arraigned at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene on Monday on felony-level negligent homicide and aggravated DWI charges out of Jaffrey following a fatal car crash Friday evening on Fitzwilliam Road in Jaffrey.

(Staff photo by Alyssa Dandrea)

Nichole Oates was arraigned at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene on Monday on felony-level negligent homicide and aggravated DWI charges out of Jaffrey following a fatal car crash Friday evening on Fitzwilliam Road in Jaffrey.

(Staff photo by Alyssa Dandrea)

Nichole Oates was arraigned at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene on Monday on felony-level negligent homicide and aggravated DWI charges out of Jaffrey following a fatal car crash Friday evening on Fitzwilliam Road in Jaffrey.

(Staff photo by Alyssa Dandrea)

Nichole Oates was arraigned at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene on Monday on felony-level negligent homicide and aggravated DWI charges out of Jaffrey following a fatal car crash Friday evening on Fitzwilliam Road in Jaffrey.

(Staff photo by Alyssa Dandrea)

A black 2012 Ford F-150 sustained extensive damage in a single-car crash on Fitzwilliam Road in which 34-year-old Daniel Peard of Jaffrey was killed.

JAFFREY — A Rindge woman has been charged with felony-level aggravated DWI and negligent homicide after a fatal car crash Saturday night in which a 34-year-old Jaffrey man was killed.

Daniel Peard of Jaffrey died as a result of extensive injuries he sustained in an accident in the area of 577 Fitzwilliam Road in Jaffrey shortly before 11 p.m. Police say Peard was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Nichole Oates, 34, of Rindge. Oates was allegedly operating a 2012 Ford F-150 Raptor when it left the road and traveled down an embankment before striking a large bolder and a tree.

Police and the mother of Peard’s two children, April Seneschal of Jaffrey, told the Ledger-Transcript on Monday that Peard and Oates had been dating for about a year.

According to 8th Circuit Court documents, Peard was sitting in the front seat of the pickup at the time of the crash, but police found Peard on the ground outside the vehicle and without a pulse when they arrived at the scene Saturday night.

In an affidavit prepared by Jaffrey police, Det. Joseph B. Hileman wrote, “The driver’s side of the vehicle did not appear to be significantly damaged. ...The passenger side of the vehicle was torn wide open and the two doors which were on the passenger side appeared to be missing and the vehicle’s roof peeled back.”

Hileman wrote that Oates was able to climb out of the vehicle and walk to a nearby house after the crash. The homeowner told police she was sleeping when she heard banging on her front door and found Oates in her house screaming, “Help me,” and “I need to find Danny,” according to the affidavit.

The homeowner called 911.

Oates told police that she was driving home after eating at Ed’s Crossroads in Fitzwilliam on Saturday night and that she had five beers at the restaurant, Hileman wrote. Oates rated her drunkenness an eight on a scale of one to 10, with one being completely sober and 10 being unable to stand, according to the affidavit.

“Detective Hileman asked her if she is feeling the effects of the alcohol and she said, ‘Yes’ and ‘I’ll be honest I’m feeling it.’ She then said, ‘I shouldn’t have been’ and stopped her statement short of saying the word ‘driving,’ but it is believed that is how her statement would have concluded had she finished making it,” Hileman wrote.

Oates told police that she was traveling at about 35 to 40 miles per hour at the time of the crash and that “...Danny had asked her to ‘drift’ (causing the vehicle to slide sideways, typically around corners). Detective Hileman asked her if this is what she was doing when she lost control and she said she does not remember because it all happened so fast,” Hileman wrote.

While Oates was transported to Monadnock Community Hospital following her statement to police, Hileman wrote that she refused treatment and was subsequently arrested and charged with aggravated DWI and negligent homicide.

Oates was held at the Cheshire County House of Corrections in lieu of $5,000 cash bail through the weekend.

At an arraignment at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene on Monday morning, Justice Edward J. Burke ordered Oates’ bail to be upheld at $5,000 cash or surety due to the serious nature of the charges. A probable cause hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 16 at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene.

Oates did not make a statement about the crash and held back tears throughout her arraignment.

Assistant County Attorney Kathleen O’Reilly, who is prosecuting the case, told the court Monday that Oates has no prior criminal record.

An accident reconstruction team, including Jaffrey Police and N.H. State Police, was at the crash site on Fitzwilliam Road on Monday morning. A letter to Peard had been placed by someone at the tree where the vehicle crashed.

Family of both Oates and Peard were in attendance at Monday’s arraignment, but they declined to comment to the Ledger-Transcript.

By phone Monday, April Seneschal of Jaffrey, the mother of Peard’s two children said Peard was loved by many and that he will be dearly missed. Peard was born and raised in Jaffrey and well-known to many in the community, she said.

“We are sorry that this whole thing happened,” Seneschal said. “We know he is looking down on us.”

Peard worked at his family’s heating oil and automotive repair business, Red’s of Jaffrey on River Street, for more than 10 years, Seneschal said.

The Peards are a family of many generations in the town of Jaffrey and respected members of the community, said Jaffrey Police Chief Bill Oswalt.

“It is a tragic loss for the whole town,” he said Monday.

Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 228 or adandrea@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter at @alyssadandrea.

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